There were many rumors that Windows 12 would arrive at the end of this year, but they turned out to be false. What we will see at the end of the year will be Windows 11 24H2, important update with which Microsoft will strengthen its commitment to artificial intelligence in said operating system and which will serve as the basis for creating future updates for this and future operating systems.

So what happened to Windows 12? Well, very simple, for now it remains in limbo, waiting for Microsoft to finish “defoliating the daisy”. It is important to be clear, the question we have to ask ourselves is not without the launch of Windows 12 by Microsoft, we can take it for granted, The question is, when will that happen? and the truth is that it is difficult to give a concrete answer now.

Why are we sure there will be Windows 12

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When was the launch of Windows 10 Microsoft This version was suggested to be the lastand that from then on it would only release updates that would update it and improve security and performance and add new features. The Redmond giant wasn’t bluffing, but in the end we know what happened that made the company decide to back down and launch Windows 11, an operating system that didn’t have nearly as much success as Windows 10.

Windows 11 hit the market in October 2021, which means it will be three years in October. It’s a young operating system to the standards we deal with in this sector and is ready to support cutting-edge technologies and components, meaning it doesn’t really need a successor just yet.

To better understand this, just look at the pace of releases that Microsoft maintains. Windows 11 hit the market when Windows 10 was six years old, and this will soon be eight years old. Windows 7 was supposed to be six years old when Windows 10 hit the market, and the only abnormality we saw in the cadence of new Windows versions was Windows 8, an operating system that came just three years after Windows 7 and three years. before that Windows 10 and that It was a real failure.

What led Microsoft to delay Windows 12

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Microsoft never confirmed that Windows 11 24H2 was Windows 12, but the truth is that numerous sources, and even Panos Panay himself, at the time pointed to the launch of the new Windows at the end of this year, which makes me think that the Redmond Giant had indeed in mind this goal, but that Finally, he decided to change his plans.

If you’re wondering why Microsoft was going to change its plans regarding such an important issue, the answer is very simple, because really Launching Windows 12 at the end of this year was not a good idea. In this sense, there are several important reasons, so we will discuss them one by one individually so that you can understand it in a simple way:

• Windows 10 still has more than a year of official support ahead of it, meaning that Microsoft should have had three supported operating systems on the market. This would mean clear fragmentation and would be counterproductive for both the company and the users.
• Windows 11 failed to beat Windows 10 and with this “live” system Microsoft would have a much more difficult time showing Windows 12 as an interesting option for users. Waiting for Windows 10 to die is practically a must.
• Microsoft needs valuable features that really make a difference interesting and essential between Windows 12 and Windows 11. AI is one of them, but it still has an important maturation phase ahead of it, which may take several years.
• Windows 11 has a bad reputation and this could affect Windows 12, especially if the interface of the second of them ends up being too similar to the interface of the first, which is very likely to happen, since we do not expect important changes at the interface level in the next Windows.

What is Microsoft waiting for with the launch of its new Windows?

It’s clear that the Redmond giant is waiting for the right moment, which is a rather general answer that I’ll get into now. The cadence of Windows releases that I mentioned in the previous section is important because it illustrates not only the pace at which new operating systems arrive, but also confirms that Releasing a new operating system too soon can cause it to crash a lot.

Microsoft made a mistake with Windows 8, and one of the biggest mistakes they made with this operating system was the release date they chose. It came with very little time difference compared to Windows 7 and the new features it introduced did not interest PC users much. All of this, along with an interface geared more towards tablets than PCs, ultimately made this operating system a huge hit, so much so that for some it’s even worse than Windows Vista.

So when is the best time to run Windows 12? With the information we’ve just confirmed, it’s clear that the timing would be perfect at the end of next yearjust shortly after the end of official support for Windows 10, when the said operating system will die, because Microsoft could position it as the best alternative for those who want to switch from Windows 10 to a new operating system and completely switch from Windows 11.

This would bring us to the fourth quarter of 2025, although we have to remember that Microsoft is going to offer extended support for Windows 10 (paid, of course), which could make many users decide to stay on the said operating system. another one, two or even three years. I say this because eventually prices for extended support are more reasonable than we expected, at least for the first and second year.

This extended support could lead the Redmond giant to delay the launch of Windows 12 even further, as the real death of Windows 10 would occur much later. On the other hand, we also have to take into account that next year Windows 11 will be four years old, and that will still be in a relatively young stage of life. With all this information and what we have said before, we can connect several dots and create a timeline dedicated to the possible launch of Windows 12.

When Windows 12 might be released

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We’ve already seen that Microsoft could launch its new operating system at the end of next year at the earliest, but that doesn’t mean it will. It is an option and as such may or may not be fulfilled. I would bet on fourth quarter of 2025 as the Windows 12 release date, because as I said, it’s the perfect time because it coincides with the official death of Windows 10.

Even if some users decide to resort to extended support for Windows 10, which I think is quite likely, Microsoft could boost interest in its new operating system by offering the option free upgrade from Windows 10 and Windows 11. Anyone who has a valid license for one of these two operating systems can access Windows 12 without having to pay for a new license.

At worst, I don’t think Microsoft will wait until after 2026 to launch Windows 12, so the time frame that includes the possible launch date of said operating system covers from the end of 2025 to the end of 2026, i.e. only one year. It is not a very wide range and the truth is that I find it quite reliable, always bearing in mind that there is a possibility of change.

Why will this new operating system be important?

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It will be important because it will arrive a clear moment of transition that is heavily influenced by artificial intelligence. This new technology is not only changing the way we work, but it is also changing our lives in a wider sense, just look at the number of solutions that have emerged thanks to artificial intelligence and how they allow us to do things that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

The world of hardware is also changing and changing adapt to the needs of artificial intelligence. Dedicated AI cores are of increasing value, and companies like Intel and AMD have chosen to incorporate NPUs, short for Neural Processing Unit, into their processors, a specialized AI component that offers excellent value in terms of performance and power consumption.

We should also see this whole transformation and this adaptation in favor of AI in Windows 12. This is what will make this operating system important, which will be the first from Microsoft developed completely from scratch with artificial intelligence as a flag. We’ll see what Microsoft surprises us with, but we can expect a more advanced Copilot natively integrated into Windows 12 as one of its core elements.

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